Carbon-Negative Critical Minerals Extraction
Ultramafic rocks contain silica, iron, magnesium and critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese. We create acid and base from salt, water and electricity in our Electrosynthesizer. The acid dissolves the rock and we separate out silica for sale. The base goes through an air contactor and captures CO2 from the air. The basic solution containing CO2 from air capture is added to the dissolved rock. As the Ph changes, iron and mixed metal oxides separate out at different Ph levels. Last, magnesium combines with the CO2 to form magnesium carbonate (MgCO3), which provides permanent sequestration. The remaining liquid is neutral brine, which is recycled back to the Electrosynthesizer. This process fully utilizes all components of the ultramafic rock and generates no emissions or hazardous waste. The United States has so much ultramafic rock that using EDAC's process, it could sequester 4 trillion tons of CO2 and extract 2,500 years worth of nickel.
Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE)
The ocean is a natural carbon sink. Over time, dissolved CO2 in the top layers of seawater convert to solid carbonates and sink to the bottom, enabling new CO2 to be absorbed from the atmosphere. However, as CO2 levels rise in the atmosphere, the ocean is acidifying as CO2 absorption exceeds the natural pace of carbonate conversion. Magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2), when dissolved in seawater, can counter acidification by increasing ocean alkalinity, causing carbonates to form, and sequestering CO2 permanently. EDAC starts with ultramafic rock, which is high in magnesium. We generate acid and base from salt and water and electricity in our Electrosynthesizer. The acid dissolves the rock and we separate out silica for sale. The base is added to the dissolved rock. As the Ph changes, iron and mixed metal oxides separate out at different Ph levels. Finally, Mg(OH)2 is formed for OAE use. The remaining liquid is neutral brine, which is recycled back to the Electrosynthesizer. This process fully utilizes all components of the ultramafic rock and generates no emissions or hazardous waste. The magnesium hydroxide created through this process contains no toxic metals, making it a superior choice compared to OAE using mined ultramafic rocks.
Electrosynthesizer Sales for Other Applications
EDAC Lab’s Electrosynthesizer will be available for sale to support a variety of applications. This solution is fundamentally modular, can be located on-site, and can generate the amount of acid and base needed for your application at about half the cost of chlor-alkali and without any hazardous emissions or waste. It can be modified to generate different acid/base pairs, for example sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid from sodium chloride, and sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid from sodium sulfate. In some applications, brine can be recycled back to the Electrosynthesizer to save costs. Acid and base have applications in hydrometallurgy, mining, industrial decarbonization, battery recycling, wastewater treatment, and more. And that’s just the beginning.
